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I decide it would be prudent to take a minute.
Falling back on the bed, I sink my head between my knees and try to catch my breath.
“You’ve hardly been sleeping or eating,” she mumbles as she fluffs my pillows and turns down the covers of my bed. “Why is that girl so heartless? How could she see you suffering like this and not do something?”
I cough. “Shanel needs me.”
Linda faces me, her big cheeks huffing out in a loud exhale. “Shanel needs you to stay home. Sleep. You need to recover.”
“I—”
“How can you find your precious woman if you’re on death’s door? You won’t be able to do anything in this state.”
“I’m fine.”
“I guarantee you’ll be taken to the hospital if you go out like this.”
“I’d like to see them try,” I growl.
“Just take a nap.” Linda levels me a stink eye. “If you don’t, I’m calling your father.”
“You wouldn’t.”
“Try me.” She arches an eyebrow, her face set in an expression that tells me she’d betray me in a heartbeat.
Scowling, I slip under the covers.
Linda turns the air conditioner all the way up.
“How long?” I snap, my hands folded over my stomach.
“Eight hours.”
“Ridiculous.”
“Should I lock you in here?” She tilts her head.
“One hour.”
She scoffs. “You might as well keep running on fumes.”
“Can I?” I sit up suddenly and the room spins.
Linda shoves me back down. “Four hours. Meet me in the middle.”
“Deal.”
She backs up to the door. “If I catch you trying to sneak out, the deal’s off.”
I roll on my back.
She shuts the door.
I have no intentions of staying put but, when I close my eyes, I end up falling into a deep sleep.
I dream of my mother. Seeing her again stirs dark emotions. Every expression on her face is crystal clear in my dream.
The anger and hurt as she yanked open the front door.
